Syrian army takes Daesh-held town of al-Sukhna in Homs

Monitor said government troops have taken last Daesh-held town in Homs as army advances towards Daesh terrorist group strongholds in east.

Syrian government troops and allied forces have taken the last major Daesh-held town in Homs province, ALJAZEERA wrote.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said on Saturday that the Syrian army had taken the town of al-Sukhna from Daesh of Iraq and the Levant Daesh as government troops advanced towards Daesh strongholds in the east of the country.

Al-Sukhna lies some 50km away from the neighboring Deir ez-Zor region, which is almost entirely under Daesh control.

The town lies along a highway that would allow Syrian government forces to push into Daesh territory.

Earlier on Saturday, the monitor reported clashes between government troops and Daesh fighters while the army ‘advanced slowly’ inside the city.

There was no official confirmation from the Syrian government regarding the capture, but Syrian state news agency SANA said that earlier on Saturday that the army was moving into al-Sukhna from three directions.

Daesh is losing ground fast in Syria to separate campaigns waged by the Russian-backed Syrian government on the one hand, and to US-backed Kurdish forces and their allies on the other.

Government forces have also been advancing against Daesh in Hama province and in southern areas of Raqqa province.

US-led operations against Daesh are currently focused on taking the city of Raqqa in northern Syria.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led fighting coalition backed by US-led coalition air raids, have made steady advances from the eastern and western side of Raqqa.

The SDF began its assault on the stronghold on June 6.

On Friday, a senior US official said that there were about 2,000 fighters who remained in Raqqa.

“Today in Raqqa, is fighting for every last block … and fighting for their own survival,” Brett McGurk, US special envoy for the coalition against, told reporters.

Last week, the US-led coalition said 45 percent of Raqqa was under control of the SDF.

The UN said that late last month that more than 200,000 people have fled their homes in the area around the city.

It also said that an estimated 20,000 to 50,000 civilians remained in Raqqa.